Pep Guardiola jokes that Man City will 'call back Paul Dickov and Mike Summerbee' if relegated

Pep Guardiola has joked that he will bring Man City legends Paul Dickov and Mike Summerbee if they are found guilty of breaking financial rules and relegated.

The Spaniard spoke to the media for the first time on Friday since they were charged with more than 100 financial rule breaches.

Guardiola fired a defiant defence in which he pledged his side's innocence, hit out at the 19 other Premier League sides and vowed that he will not leave the Etihad as a result of the charges.

If City are found guilty of breaching financial rules, then the potential penalties that could be thrown their way includes point deductions and even expulsion from the Premier League.

There have been reports that they could drop all the way down to League Two if the EFL accept Man City.

In response to the thought of relegation, Guardiola said: 'We will go to the low division, no problem.

'We have been there before. We will call back Paul Dickov, Mike Summerbee and make a good process. We will be back I'm sure.'

Dickov, who scored 41 goals in 123 appearances for Man City, spent six years at Man City where they bounced between the top three divisions in English football.

He memorably scored a 95th minute equalise against Gillingham in the 1999 League Two play-off final, before City won a penalty shootout, which saw them promoted to what is now known as the Championship.

The 50-year-old later returned for a second spell at the club in which he made 16 appearances.

Summerbee, now 80, played for Man City from 1965 to 1975, scoring 68 goals in 452 appearances.

In his first season he started every game and helped the club get promoted to the old First Division (now the Premier League).

The case could take up to four years to reach a conclusion but Guardiola insisted judgement has always been reached by the club’s detractors.

The City boss also took fierce aim at their rivals after nine clubs wrote to UEFA to uphold a two-year Champions League ban during an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

'Go to the chairman, CEOs, Daniel Levy, ask them,' Guardiola said when asked whether he believe the charges had been driven by rival clubs.

He added: 'We are already being condemned. What's happened this week it's the same that happened with UEFA - we were condemned, we had an acquisition then, now we have just charges.

'What they told me before the club proved we were completely innocent. Why should we not think we are innocent - it's just charges rather than acquisition.

'You have to understand the 19 PL teams are accusing it without our opportunity to defend. Our people explain everything in the last three or four years. You know what side I'm on.'